Currently there are several solutions for signpost stabilization. Some of these solutions attempt to stabilize the signpost by adding bracket assemblies near the surface of soil/grade line, but these solutions fail to meet the needs of the industry because the current assemblies do not address the rotational, uplift or removal by non-authorized persons while maintaining the breakaway criteria mandated by the Federal Highway Administration. Other solutions attempt to enhance the resistance, but these solutions are similarly unable to meet the needs of the industry because they are installed at grade level and only provide minimal resistance due to the design, placement location and function of their current designs. For example: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,396,743A and 4,928,446A teach of sign post anchoring systems having auger attachments to shore up existing posts. U.S. Pat. No. 5,058,337A disclosed a sign post anchoring system with spikes to support a sign post in the ground. U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,918 disclosed a sign post anchor with vertical wing members. Problematic issues continue with these current designs due to the wide assortment of signposts that differ in materials and configurations. Another current solution typically utilized in the industry is the use of concrete fill to enhance the rotational and uplift properties of the signpost.
Disadvantages of the current methods include, but are not limited to: weight of the concrete prior to installation, protection from the elements of the concrete prior to utilization, water requirement, metal reinforcement/anchors, loading/offloading of the concrete products and health warnings typically associated with utilization of concrete. The adverse effects of the supplemental concrete methodology are compounded after installation due to the sheer weight and mass of this assembly, require extensive excavation and potentially additional personnel and/or specialized equipment. A further issue to contend with is that the typical life expectancy of existing sign material that range from seven to twelve years and that the Federal Highway Administration has minimum threshold requirements that mandate replacement at specific intervals. The ongoing replacement consideration would be over and above any replacement program associated with damage or theft due to the proximity to the edge of roadway. In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of signpost soils plates now present in the prior art and practice, the present invention provides a new signpost soil plate construction wherein the same can be utilized for increasing the stability of a signpost by providing multi-directional support. The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new soil plate apparatus and method which has many of the advantages of the signpost plates mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new post plate which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art signpost ground anchors or soil plates, either alone or in any combination thereof.